Seventh COVID-19 death reported in county

The New Mexico Department of Health on Wednesday reported the seventh death in Quay County because of COVID-19.

According to a news release, the latest victim was a man in his 70s who was hospitalized. The agency does not identify confirmed cases or casualties of the disease.

It was the second coronavirus death reported this month in the county. Three deaths were reported in November.

The total number of confirmed cases in the county since the pandemic began remained at 331 for a third straight day Wednesday, another signal the pandemic was slowing in the region.

The total number of people in the county who have been deemed as recovered from the virus rose to 162.

In New Mexico, a total of 1,316 new cases of the virus were reported Wednesday. The total overall since the pandemic began rose to more than 141,000.

A total of 33 deaths were reported in the state Wednesday, raising the toll to 2,436.

A total of 796 people in New Mexico were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday, a number that has been mostly stable the past few days.

In Amarillo, more than 3,500 active cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, with a 22.8% hospitalization rate. Both numbers have been trending downward for several weeks.

In the U.S., more than 19.6 million people have been confirmed with the disease through Wednesday, with more than 341,000 deaths.